


Roadside Rescue

by SixthNight



Series: Riptide [1]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Domestic Turks, Gen, Humor, Light-Hearted, Owls are Elena's Spirit Animal, Redemption, Rude Saves an Owl, Side Quests, Side Story, Turk (Compilation of FFVII)-centric, Turks (Compilation of FFVII)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:41:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26669872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SixthNight/pseuds/SixthNight
Summary: On the way to Kalm, Rude and Reno come across a little unexpected trouble.
Relationships: Reno & Rude (Compilation of FFVII)
Series: Riptide [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1940557
Comments: 6
Kudos: 30





	Roadside Rescue

**Author's Note:**

> A goofy side quest of a story, an expansion on something Reno shares with Tifa in my ReTi fic [Riptide](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25478947/chapters/61805068). This stems from my obsession with the fact that Rude fed birds in FF7R 😂

_**T**_ he road between Edge and Kalm was becoming something of a safe haven. The walk proved a welcome distraction from the turmoil of recent events and it gave Reno time to think. He and Rude would pass the time talking over cases and discussing whether Rufus would find that cure he was seeking. More often than not, they would simply shoot the breeze. On this particular walk, however, Rude got himself into a situation Reno did not see coming.

As they walked along the dusty path, a noise drew their attention. Something was croaking out little squeaks. Reno paused, eyeing his partner. “You hear that?”

There was always a concern that leftover fiends could cause trouble on the long stretch between the two established areas. At first, he thought it could be a threat of some kind. Together, they stood in the road and listened. The noise didn’t sound particularly aggressive and he wondered if it might be an injured fiend. 

Rude glanced in several directions before agreeing. “I hear something.”

A slightly more agitated sound split the silence. Rude seemed to dial in on wherever the noise was coming from then, the realization spurring him into action. He stepped from the path to investigate a mound of dirt, balancing on his hands to peek over it. His posture quickly relaxed as he hummed with curiosity.

Sensing there wasn’t any threat, Reno scratched his neck and curiously asked, “What’cha got there, partner?”

“It’s a burrowing owl. Seems injured.”

“Tough luck for it.” Reno started back down the path with a dismissive wave. 

“Can’t just leave it here,” Rude called after him.

His partner was such a softie under that brooding, tough exterior. Very few got to witness that side of him, but it was there just beneath the surface. It was present in the way Rude always stopped to feed crumbs to the birds or listened longer, more intently, than anyone else when someone was sharing a story. Still, he couldn’t see any course of action to help the creature when they had a schedule to keep.

Reno sighed and spoke over his shoulder, “Gotta let nature run its course, man.”

“But it needs our—ouch!”

At the exclamation of pain, Reno turned back in time to see Rude attempting to pull his hand from behind the mound of dirt. As it crested over the top, he caught sight of the issue. The owl hitched a ride, attached firmly by the beak to one of Rude’s gloved fingers. It was all legs and a small body not much larger than his hand.

The creature’s comically long legs hung straight down, forming an owl torpedo. Reno cackled while his partner gently shook his hand, trying to dislodge the small, feathered creature. Its sandy white speckled belly puffed indignantly. Rude looked torn between relieving the pressure of the bite and making sure he didn’t cause any further injury.

“See, this is why we don’t interfere,” Reno commented in his best parental tone.

The owl finally let go, dropping to the ground where it tried to hobble away from Rude. One tawny, mottled wing sloped lower than the other, likely the source of the agitation. As Rude attempted to scoop the owl off the ground, it turned and raised its good wing while hissing fiercely through it’s petite beak.

“Dude, you gotta let it be. It’s gonna take your finger off if you bother it again.”

“It just needs to see I’m trying to help,” Rude told him. He mumbled soft noises to the little owl in support of his point.

Reno slapped his thigh with a sharp laugh. “Right, whatever you say.” He stood beneath the warm sun, a smirk on his lips as he watched his partner lurch forward only to miss the owl as it dashed as fast as it’s injured body would allow. 

Rude whispered softly, the words unclear but the point of them obvious. He was trying to sweet-talk the owl into letting him pick it up. He stooped down, able to close in on the creature. It almost looked promising, if only for a moment.

Having none of it, the owl merely screeched in Rude’s face and fell dramatically onto its good side, exposing nasty talons. It kicked furiously, keeping reaching hands at bay. As soon as Rude pulled back, the owl rolled upright and hobbled away a short distance.

Reno pulled out his PHS to check the time. “We’re due back in thirty. Let’s get back on the road, yeah?”

“Five minutes, if I can’t catch it by then…”

“You’ll leave it here.”

“We’ll see.”

With a huff, Reno set his sights on his device. This ridiculous scene required just the right anthem, he decided. He scrolled through a music app for something zany, a tune he might hear in the midst of a silly car chase in a comedic film. Finding one, he hit play and sent the disjointed sounds into the air. 

He watched as the melody seemed to play like a soundtrack to Rude’s pursuit of the owl. Low, creeping warbles echoed a patient approach that allowed his partner within a foot of the animal. A chaotic crescendo complemented a hasty lunge while empty hands ushered in the almost melancholic diminuendo.

It repeated a couple of times before Rude appeared to notice, fixing Reno with a withering glare. The owl took advantage, putting some distance between them. 

“Do you mind?” Rude asked.

Unable to hold back his laughter, Reno howled. The sound startled the owl, sending it into another hissing fit accompanied by raised talons. Under the weight of another stern look from Rude, he finally gave in and stopped the song.

Rude turned back to the task at hand, murmuring in comforting tones to the creature. For a second, it appeared to be soothed by the promises of help and food. That calmness lured Rude in but as soon as he reached for it, the little one popped up and ran. The chase only continued as he made several more attempts to pick up the owl, each answered with a hiss or a bite.

“It’s gonna keel over from fear if you keep this up.”

“It’s slowing down, won’t be long now,” Rude replied patiently.

As if in answer, the owl flapped its decent wing furiously, trying to ward off the offending man one final time with little success. Just as Reno palmed his forehead and prepared another speech about letting nature be, the owl tuckered out and gave in. 

Rude scooped up the bird and stood.“There we go,” he said soothingly, cradling it in two hands. 

Very angry eyes peered at Reno over curled fingers, the owl's head sinking down into a poof of feathers. “That’s one pissed off little owl,” Reno snarked.

Rude craned over his hands, meeting the unamused gaze of the owl as he shifted it onto one hand. “You sure are a feisty one.”

“Don’t go getting all attached. And definitely don’t go naming it, you know we don’t have time for pets.”

“Elena,” Rude whispered with a pat to the owl’s head. Its yellow eyes widened but kept on glaring.

Reno quirked a brow. “What did you just say?” 

“Doesn’t hurt to call it something other than owl for the walk.” 

Rude started down the road again, the owl now clutched close to his torso. It looked positively sullen, yet accepting of it's fate.

“Yeah, but _what_ did you just call it?”

“Elena,” Rude repeated, firmly this time.

Reno stood there staring at his partner’s back. “Because?”

“Because she’s small and feisty as hell.”

The comment sunk in. He wasn’t a stranger to Rude’s rarely revealed sense of humor, but Rude didn’t normally make jokes at the expense of their colleagues. A slow smile worked across Reno’s lips and he couldn’t help a chuckle as he caught up to Rude. Maybe this was all part of their redemption. Maybe they were the good guys now, the ones who were seeking out a cure for Geostigma and rescuing owls on the side of the road. 

If nothing else, he knew soundly that Rude, at least, was one of the good ones.

* * *

  
  



End file.
